


In This Moment

by vLightnDarkv



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Miscommunication, Victuuri Summer Loving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 11:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16158026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vLightnDarkv/pseuds/vLightnDarkv
Summary: A fun day at the beach turns sour when Victor and Yuuri aren't quite on the same page as to what they want. Months later, after Victor make a public declaration by kissing Yuuri at the Cup of China they're forced to talk about what happened that day and clear a few things up between them.





	In This Moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [undermyumbreon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/undermyumbreon/gifts).



> So this is my super, super, SUPER late gift to [undermyumbreon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/undermyumbreon/pseuds/undermyumbreon) (who I cannot apologize enough to for taking so long) for the Victuuri Summer Loving gift exchange. @.@
> 
> This took me far longer than it should have because life in general has been kinda hectic and then decided to really sucker punch me when the night before gifts were due I had to take my dad to the hospital due quite frankly, to his own stubborn stupidity. Long story short, he got a really bad infection in his hand from a splinter that he didn't tell any of us about for nearly a week. He's doing better, currently in a nursing home so they can ensure he gets the antibiotics he needs, but because of him being there and work I had a hard time getting around to finishing this.
> 
> BUT! I finally finished it and here it is for you all, especially undermyumbreon, to (hopefully) enjoy!

Yuuri didn’t always look forward to off days of training like many other athletes. He knew they were necessary, the body needed time to rest and recuperate after being put through hours of hard practice for multiple days in a row, but from the very beginning Yuuri had set high expectations for himself and as a result it became easy to push his rest day back a day or two. It was a habit that at first had impressed Celestino—it had been quite some time since he had had such a dedicated student—but over time it became a point of worry, and more often than was probably healthy Celestino had to put his foot down as a coach and refuse Yuuri access to the rink. To this day Yuuri still believe that when Phichit had come along their coach had roomed them together so that the younger skater could keep Yuuri in check, because while Phichit loved skating as much as Yuuri, he also enjoyed having days where he could go off and do other things. Things that more often than not Yuuri found himself being dragged along to.

Since Victor had become his coach Yuuri found that he didn’t try to skip rest days as often as he used to, but old habits die hard as they say so there were times when he still would. Victor was a bit more lenient when it came up, but only to the point where he would allow the rest day to be put off by one day, no exceptions. The extra day Victor sometimes only permitted to be a half day and depending on how the week had already been going wouldn’t allow Yuuri to do anything too strenuous. 

This particular rest day however Yuuri had been looking forward to. Now that the music for his free skate was finished they had begun working in earnest to get the components of the program put together so that Yuuri would have plenty of time to work on and perfect it. Confident in Yuuri’s abilities, Victor wanted to pull out all the stops and make the difficulty of the program higher than anything Yuuri had ever done before. Yuuri wasn’t entirely sure about the whole thing, but he had never been one to back down from a challenge and so kept quiet. And although Victor was the one choreographing the program, since it was meant to represent every major aspect of Yuuri’s career, he still wanted Yuuri’s input on what elements to use and where they should go. It was far more input than Yuuri was used to having when it came to his programs so as a result he was both physically and mentally drained and this rest day was exactly what he needed. A chance to relax and get his thoughts back in order while also giving his body a chance to rest from the strain it had been put through the last few days.

A glance at his phone told Yuuri that it was almost 10 o’clock and after a brief internal debate decided that another hour wouldn’t hurt. Snuggling further into his blankets Yuuri closed his eyes and allowed the warmth and comfort of his bed to settle back into his body and was just starting to drift off when his door was unceremoniously thrown open with enough force to cause it to rattle in its track.

“Yuuri! Let’s go to the beach!”

Yuuri shifted, rolling over and poking his head out of the top of his blanket and craning it back to look at Victor upside down. His coach was dressed in a pair of swim trunks and an open hooded t-shirt, the two front panels accentuating the toned muscle of his abs and chest. Yuuri stared for a moment or two longer than was strictly necessary before hurriedly lifting his gaze to the other man’s face and praying he hadn’t noticed. Victor was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling in excitement, he had a towel rolled up under one arm and a large beach bag under the other. Yuuri closed his eyes and suppressed a sigh, he could practically feel his lazy off day slipping through his fingers. When Victor was this excited there was no deterring him, but that didn’t mean Yuuri wasn’t going to try. He rolled over on to his side, pulling his blanket tighter around him and making a show of how comfortable he was.

“Victor… It’s my day off,” he said, slipping the smallest hint of a whine into his voice.

“And what better way to spend it than at the beach?” Victor retorted, his voice as chipper as it had been when he barged into Yuuri’s room. Either he hadn’t heard the tone in Yuuri’s voice or was ignoring it, Yuuri assumed the later.

“Sitting back and relaxing? I’m almost finished with that book you recommended to me, or there’s a new video game I’ve been wanting to play. If you want to do something together we could stay in and watch movies.”

Victor shook his head. “No, no Yuuri, that simply won’t do. Just because it’s your day off doesn’t mean I can let my star pupil become a lazy lump.”

“I’m you’re only pupil Victor,” Yuuri deadpanned. “And I’m not going to become a lazy lump, I just wanted to take it easy today.”

“And you can do that at the beach! The sun and fresh air will be good for you, and as a treat for lunch we can go to that ramen bar you like.”

That more than anything caught Yuuri’s attention. Opening one eye he tilted his head back to look at his coach again and caught the knowing glint in the other man’s eyes. The fastest way to get Yuuri to do anything was the promise of good food, and since they had started training in earnest many of Yuuri’s favorite restaurants had been all but banned except for special permission from Victor. Yuuri attempted to give Victor his best glare with one eye before resigning himself to his fate.

“That’s so not fair,” he complained, Victor’s smiled wider.

“I’ll see you downstairs!” he practically sing-songed before disappearing down the hallway.

Yuuri sighed and sat up, stretching his arms above his head, this was not at all how he had planned on spending his day but he supposed there were worse options. Plus, it was something Victor had said he wanted to do once the weather warmed up but thus far there hadn’t been a chance for them to go. And it _had_ been quite a while since he had last been to the beach—the last time being some time before he left for Detroit—so he supposed he was well overdue. Pushing his blanket aside he swung his feet over the edge of his bed and stood up, now he just needed to remember where his swim trunks were.

Fifteen minutes later Yuuri made his way downstairs, dressed in his own trunks—which he had found shoved in the back of his closet—and a white t-shirt. The trunks were a little snug, being the same ones he had worn in his last few years of high school, but not uncomfortably so. Although if trips to the beach with Victor were going to become a thing then he would have to look into getting a new pair. Victor was sitting at one of the tables in the main dining room, talking animatedly with his parents. Yuuri watched the scene for a moment, unable to stop the small smile at the domestic scene, before approaching them.

“Yuuri! There you are!” Victor exclaimed when he noticed him. “I was beginning to worry you had gone back to sleep.”

“Ah, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No worries.” Victor bounced to his feet. “Shall we go then? I already have a towel for you and anything else we might need.”

Victor scooped the beach bag Yuuri had noticed him holding when he was standing in his doorway off the floor, he glanced at it before turning his attention back to his coach.

“Sure,” he said with a nod.

“You boys have fun,” his mother said as they made their way towards the front entrance, Makkachin, Yuuri realized, was already there waiting for them. Victor enthusiastically assured her they would as Yuuri sat down to slip on his shoes. He was just about to pull the first one on when Victor stopped him and produced a pair of simple flip flops from his beach bag that Yuuri was fairly certain he had never seen before. Eyebrow raised in question he looked up at Victor.

“You can’t go to the beach in your tennis shoes,” he said mater of factly. “You’ll get sand all through them and then how do you think that will feel to run in?”

Yuuri considered telling Victor that he had gone running _on_ the beach many times and had never had a problem but decided against it. The flip flops were more practical since you could easily slip them on and off, plus Victor had gone through the trouble of getting him a pair (just how long had he been planning this beach trip?) so the least he could do was wear them. Instead he simply thanked him as he took them then set them down to put them on, Victor set his own pair down to do the same and soon they were out the door and on their way with Makkachin trailing happily behind them.

The beach was relatively empty when they arrived. There were a few locals from town that Yuuri recognized and who called out greetings as they passed but other than that it was more or less deserted. Victor glanced around, a small frown playing at his lips.

“It’s such a nice day, I thought for sure there would be more people here,” he commented.

“It’s the middle of the week, most people are at work. Although, like everything else people don’t come to the beach much anymore.”

“Hm… Well then I guess that means we’ll be able to get the best spot!”

The best spot turned out to be a spot about halfway down the beach, they were far enough away that when Yuuri looked back he could no longer see the onsen or any other buildings for that matter. Yuuri didn’t know what made this spot the best, but if Victor deemed it so then he decided to go with it. Victor wasted no time in getting them set up, laying out their blankets and pulling a few other items out of his bag. Makkachin took off after a group of nearby seagulls.

“Sit down Yuuri, let me put sunscreen on your back,” Victor said as he waved a bottle towards Yuuri.

Yuuri flushed slightly. “Ah, no that’s okay. You don’t have to.”

“Don’t be silly, you don’t want to try and skate with sunburn. Trust me on this one.”

Yuuri tilted his head curiously but received no further explanation, he made a mental note to ask about the story behind that comment some other time. When Yuuri still didn’t move Victor gave the sunscreen bottle another little shake as he looked at Yuuri expectantly. Resigning himself to it, Yuuri slipped his flip flops off and settled himself on to one of the large beach towels. He heard movement behind him as Victor shifted closer, followed by the tell-tale pop of the sunscreen bottle as it was opened and then the cool cream was being rubbed into his skin causing him to jump slightly. Victor paused for the briefest of moments before continuing.

Yuuri had to fight not to fidget under Victor’s touch, which as a result caused him to sit a bit more rigid than was necessary. He was being ridiculous, he _knew _he was being ridiculous, this wasn’t something he should be feeling nervous about. What they were doing was a perfectly normal, perfectly _logical > thing to be doing, but just the fact it was Victor he was here with and not one of his friends was enough to put him on edge. He had looked up to Victor for so long that it was still a little strange to see the man, who had been named the living legend of figure skating, in such a normal setting. But as Yuuri sat there and allowed Victor to apply sunscreen to his back he realized it was more than that. The more time they spent together the less Yuuri saw Victor as the living legend and the more he saw him as just Victor, an easily excited, complete goofball of a man who could go from completely focused on perfecting Yuuri’s routines to, well, suggesting an impromptu beach visit. And that, somehow, made Victor even more intimidating.___

___As the living legend Victor was someone who was untouchable, someone that no matter how hard you tried you could never reach. But as “just Victor” he was like everyone else; he cried during sad movies, had terrible bed head in the morning, played with and spoiled his dog. As “just Victor” he suddenly seemed much closer and Yuuri was beginning to find that as each day passed he was less and less willing to pull away._ _ _

___“You seem very tense,” Victor suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts. “Is something wrong?”_ _ _

___“Ah, n-no,” Yuuri stammered as his cheeks grew warm._ _ _

___“Are you sure? I could give you a quick shoulder rub to help loosen you up.”_ _ _

___“No, no that’s fine! I’m fine no need!” Yuuri said a bit too loudly. He suddenly pulled away from Victor and fumbled around on the ground, purposely keeping his flaming face turned away from the other man. After a moment his hand found what he was looking for and he snatched up the discarded bottle of sunscreen._ _ _

___“I-I should return the favor,” he said, still not looking at Victor. “Can’t have my coach getting sun burned either.”_ _ _

___Victor didn’t move right away, when Yuuri chanced a careful glance at him he founds the other man simply looking at him, eyes slightly wide in confusion and his hands still raised where moments ago they had been on Yuuri’s back. Yuuri knew how bizarre his sudden behavior must be, and mentally kicked himself for once again being unable to act like a normal person around Victor. Thankfully Victor didn’t comment. After getting over his surprise he lowered his hands and without a word turned so that his back was to Yuuri. Yuuri let out a small sigh of relief, he really needed to get a grip. Taking a few moments, he waited until he was certain his face wasn’t going to combust from embarrassment before properly lifting his head and turning towards Victor. Shifting closer, he squeezed a decent sized dollop of sunscreen into his hand and began to rub it into Victor’s skin, already warmed from the morning sun._ _ _

___Yuuri worked much more quickly than Victor, though was still mindful to not miss any spots, and it wasn’t long before he deemed the task done. After that they took turns passing the bottle between then as they applied sunscreen to the areas of their bodies they could reach themselves. Yuuri was finishing up his forearm when Victor tossed the bottle on to his towel and sprang to his feet._ _ _

___“Yuuri let’s go swimming!”_ _ _

___Yuuri looked up at him and had to bite back a laugh. Victor was rocking back and forth on his feet, eyes shining in excitement and making him look very much like a child who couldn’t wait to go play, it was quite the endearing sight. Offering a smile to the man standing above him he shook his head._ _ _

___“You go ahead, I think I’m just going to sit here for a little bit.”_ _ _

___Victor pouted slightly and right away Yuuri knew what was coming._ _ _

___“Yuuuuriii… The whole point of going to the beach is to go swimming in the ocean.”_ _ _

___“And I will. But right now I want to relax a little.”_ _ _

___It wasn’t a total lie, there were still some remnants of fatigue from having been coerced out of bed sooner than he had planned, but he also needed a little time without Victor in close proximity to properly regain his wits. Plus, it was still early, the temperature hadn’t yet started to get uncomfortable, and there was a nice breeze blowing in from the ocean, so it was the perfect time for one to relax. Victor continued to pout at him, Yuuri could feel his resolve wavering—something Victor was likely counting on—but he held firm. After a stand-off that couldn’t have lasted more than ten seconds Victor’s shoulder slumped, and he let out a small huff of defeat. The sight made Yuuri feel the slightest bit guilty, but he knew Victor wasn’t really upset. Sure enough, in the next moment he recovered and made Yuuri promise not to spend the whole trip sitting on the beach and eventually come swimming before turning and jogging towards the water. His movements caught Makkachin’s attention and the poodle turned and bounded towards his owner, the seagulls he had been bothering completely forgotten. Victor turned as his feet reached the water in time to be bowled over fifty pounds of excited poodle, falling back into an incoming wave with an audible splash. Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Victor sat up and looked towards him, heart-shaped smile easily visible and gave a wave before getting to his feet and hurrying further into the water, Makkachin at his heels._ _ _

___Yuuri had no idea how long he sat watching the two of them, but apparently it was too long because as he continued to sit there he saw Victor kneel down and say something to Makkachin before glancing towards him. By the time he realized what was going to happen it was too late as Makkachin suddenly came running towards him. Yuuri quickly tried to get to his feet but he was too slow and much like Victor had been he was knocked on to his back as he was tackled by the very wet dog. Makkachin immediately began his assault, licking every inch of Yuuri’s face he could reach, knocking his glasses askew in the process. Yuuri laughed as he half-heartedly tried to push the overzealous pooch away, eventually succeeding enough to push himself up on to his elbows. Still smiling, he looked at Makkachin and was about to comment on how Victor was a bad influence on him when the dog gave his head a shake and with a sinking feeling Yuuri realized what he was about to do._ _ _

___“Makka… Makka no-“_ _ _

___Yuuri let out a yelp and threw his arms up in a merger attempt to protect himself as Makkachin began to shake, spraying him with cold sea water. In a matter of seconds Yuuri, and everything around him, was soaked. When the spray stopped Yuuri slowly lowered his arms and looked towards his assailant, who didn’t look the least bit ashamed. In fact, if the quickly wagging tail and lolling tongue were any indication Yuuri would guess Makkachin was actually quite pleased with himself. He tried to look upset, but it was a half-hearted attempt that Makkachin clearly wasn’t buying so instead he reached out and scratched the cheeky pooch behind the ear as he gave a small chuckle._ _ _

___“Victor put you up to this didn’t he?”_ _ _

___Makkachin let out a soft woof and licked Yuuri’s cheek, which was all the confirmation he needed. He looked down the beach towards the man in question to see him watching the two of them, his pleased smile obvious even from where Yuuri sat. Well if that was how he wanted to play._ _ _

___“Want to help me get even Makka?”_ _ _

___Makkachin gave a bark and Yuuri smiled, scratching the pooch behind the ear again before removing and setting aside his glassed and getting to his feet. He saw Victor tilt his head curiously and bit back a smile as he looked down at Makkachin at his side. The dog looked up at him, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth again, and then the two of them took off running down the beach towards the water. Victor’s eyes went wide as he realized what was happening, his face split into a wide grin before he turned and started running, kicking up water as it rolled in around his feet. Makkachin caught up to him easily, jumping around him and barking excitedly once he did so. It was enough to slow him down so that Yuuri could catch up, he grabbed Victor around the middle and much like Makkachin had done earlier tackled the older man into the water. Makkachin quickly joined the fray, jumping in and licking at his master’s face until he was laughing._ _ _

___“N-no fair Yuuri!” he cried between laughs. “You turned my Makka against me!”_ _ _

___Yurri grinned widely. “Well I guess that means Makkachin likes me better. Isn’t that right Makka?”_ _ _

___Makkachin stopped his assault on Victor and turned towards him, letting out a bark of apparent affirmation. Victor gave a dramatic gasp._ _ _

___“Oh how cruel! Betrayed by my own dog! Well I suppose it was inevitable, you do have quite the irresistible charm.”_ _ _

___He punctuated his sentence with a wink that made Yuuri blush, but before he had the chance to deny it Victor grabbed his hands and was tugging him to his feet._ _ _

___“Well now that you’re here, let’s go swimming!”_ _ _

___Yuuri only hesitated briefly before allowing Victor to pull him further into the water. When the water was above their waists he stopped and fell backwards, yanking Yuuri with him and sending them both tumbling under the water. Yuuri’s embarrassment was soon forgotten and the two quickly lost track of time as they both just let go and enjoyed themselves. They swam for a while, Victor challenged Yuuri to a race that he promptly lost, playfully blaming it on the fact Yuuri grew up so close to the beach. Makkachin remained closer to the shore, barking and jumping around as he watched the two of them. Eventually they made their way back into the shallower water so that the poodle could join in the fun. They splashed water at each other, and at Makkachin, who in turn jumped up and knocked each of them down in retaliation. When Victor sat back up he had a piece of seaweed stuck to his head and Yuuri laughed so hard that had he been standing he likely would have fallen over._ _ _

___Eventually they decided to take a break from the water and made their way back to the beach. Yuuri assumed they would go back to their towels and sit for a while, but Victor was still bouncing with energy and suggested a walk instead. Makkachin ran ahead of them as they walked, having spotted a new group of seagulls to chase. Victor began picking up seashells, presenting each one to Yuuri and showing it off much like a child would to a parent, it was frankly adorable to watch. Soon Victor became determined to find the perfect shell to keep as a souvenir of their trip and encouraged Yuuri to do the same._ _ _

___They spent close to an hour looking for shells. After the first ten minutes Yuuri had found one that he thought was nice, it was one of the flat, ribbed kind, colored a dark sandy color and speckled with little white dots. But when Victor saw it he had shaken his head and told Yuuri it wouldn’t do, claiming it to be too ordinary to be a proper memento and told him to keep looking. After that Yuuri had tried to find more unique looking shells, but each time he showed Victor the older man would just shake his head and send Yuuri off again. In the end if was Victor who founds shells for the both of them, letting out a triumphant cry when he did so. They were the long, twisted kind that as children Yuuko had always said reminded her of a unicorn horn. Each one was about the length of Victor’s pinkie and colored in such a way Yuuri could honestly say he had never seen before. They were mostly white, but with a thin ribbon of color twisted into the inner ridges of the swirl, one blue and the other pink. Yuuri stared at them a moment before lifting his gaze to meet Victor’s, catching a hint of apprehension in his eyes as he waited to see what Yuuri would say. Yuuri smiled._ _ _

___“They’re perfect,” he said._ _ _

___The smile that broke out across Victor’s face was so full of joy it made Yuuri’s breath hitch slightly and he was completely unprepared for the other man to throw his arms around him as he let out an excited “Yay!”. When Victor pulled back he held the shells out again, telling Yuuri to pick the one he wanted. Yuuri tried to say that since Victor had found them he should pick first but Victor insisted. Yuuri studied the two shells, his first instinct was to go for the blue one, having always been partial to the color, but something about the pink one made him hesitate. For whatever reason it reminded him of Victor, and since this was supposed to be a memento of their time at the beach…_ _ _

___“I’ll take this one,” he said as he picked up the pink shell. He thought he heard Victor let out what sounded like a sigh of relief, but when he looked up the other man was merely smiling at him, had he imagined it? Before he could think about it too much Victor suggested they head back and Yuuri pushed the thought from his mind as he nodded._ _ _

___It was well past lunch by the time they made it back to their towels, a fact that was pointed out to them when Yuuri’s stomach let out a particularly loud growl that had him blushing and covering his face. Victor let out a good-natured laugh._ _ _

___“Well I guess that means it’s time to go,” he said._ _ _

___Yuuri mumbled an apology that Victor waved off, claiming he was getting hungry as well. He knelt down and began packing up their things, handing Yuuri his glasses that he had forgotten to take with them before their walk. Shortly after they were ready to go, the last thing to go into the bag being their shells—Victor carefully tucked them into the folds of one of the towels—and then they were making their way back down the beach. Yuuri led them to an area with a number of poles with shower heads attached to them, explaining that they were used by beach goers to rinse off. Victor set the bag down far enough away that it wouldn’t be at risk of getting wet and slipped off his flip flops, Yuuri did the same and then went to one of the sprayers. Each pole had two heads so they each stood under one and Yuuri turned it on, bracing himself and only jumping slightly when the cold water hit him. Victor didn’t fare quite so well as he let out a yelp of alarm._ _ _

___“It’s cold!” he cried and Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh, though quickly apologized for having not warned him when Victor pouted at him. Victor attempted to retaliate by cupping some of the water in his hands and throwing it at him, which only made Yuuri laugh again. Smiling, he did it again, but when he tried to do it a third time Yuuri dodged and before they knew it they entered into a water fight as they chased each other around the sprayer. Makkachin jumped back and forth between the two, barking and jumping to try and catch the water in his mouth. Yuuri realized how ridiculous they must look, but he was having so much fun that he couldn’t bring himself to care. Eventually they remembered that they were supposed to be getting rinsed off and turned their attention to that. Yuuri rubbed at his arms, washing away any salt or sand that may have been lingering when suddenly there were hands in his hair._ _ _

___“Don’t forget your hair Yuuri!”_ _ _

___“V-Victor!” Yuuri laughed as the older man began to rub vigorously at his hair. He half-heartedly tried to bat Victor’s hands away, but Victor was not deterred. Clearly he was still feeling playful. Not wanting to be outdone he lifted his own hands and buried them in Victor’s hair, rubbing at his head like Victor was doing to him. Now it was Victor’s turn to laugh. They were at it for about a minute before their laughs began to subside, though their hands remained on each-other’s heads. Yuuri lifted his head, smiling and unable to recall the last time he had so much fun. As his gaze settled on Victor his breath caught in his throat at the look the other man was giving him. Eyes half-lidded, and a warm smile on his lips, Yuuri felt his face heat up and his heartbeat speed up. His head was telling him to back away, but his legs seemed to have forgotten how to work. Victor seemed to study him carefully, his eyes flickering from Yuuri’s own to his lips and back before stepping closer, his hands sliding down to gently cup the sides of Yuuri’s face. He brushed his thumbs across Yuuri’s cheeks, the look on his face seeming to soften even more. Victor began to lean down, his eyes slowly slipping shut and Yuuri reacted in like, taking half a step closer and tilting his head up. Yuuri could feel Victor’s breath, their lips less than an inch apart when the realization of what was happening hit him. His eyes shot opened and he jumped back like he had been shocked, scrambling backwards until his back collided with the pole of another sprayer. Victor opened his eyes, blinking in confusion as he lowered his arms from where they had been left hanging. Yuuri’s eyes darted around, suddenly unable to look at Victor._ _ _

___“I-I… Um… We… We should get going… Um…”_ _ _

___Still not looking at Victor he hurried over to where their stuff was, quickly slipping on his flip flops. Behind him he heard the water stop as they sprayer was turned off and a moment later Victor was at his side, slipping on his own flip flops. He kept his gaze averted as Victor picked up the beach bag and then in silence they turned and made their way back towards the onsen. They never made it to the ramen bar._ _ _

___ _

___Yuuri was both relieved and left feeling anxious when Victor didn’t mention what had happened, or almost happened rather, at the beach. He knew that he should say something, apologize, or at the very least explain why he had reacted the way he did. The problem was he really didn’t _know_ why he had pulled away so violently. There was no denying that he and Victor had grown closer during their time together, but had they really become _that_ close? Or had they simply just allowed themselves to get caught up in the moment? Whatever was the case, Victor didn’t bring it up and continued to act the same as always around Yuuri, so in the end Yuuri decided to let it go. For now at least._ _ _

___Training began in earnest when the GPF assignments were announced and before they knew it the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu Championship was upon them. Yuuri took first place, and thereby secured his spot in the Grand Prix Final, though not before receiving a lesson in humility when dealing with his fans and nearly giving himself a concussion during his free skate when he decided to disobey his coach’s orders of downgrading his jumps. After that was the Cup of China where things took a dramatic tun, and it had nothing to do with the competition._ _ _

___After being rendered a nervous wreck due to going into the free skate in first place Victor had taken Yuuri away from all the excitement, leading him to the parking garage where he could focus on his warmups without worrying about what was happening. But of course, that only worked so well. While Victor wasn’t paying attention Yuuri had removed his earplugs in time to hear the cheers and applause from the audience above them. Victor had shown just how inexperience he was as a coach, offering to kiss Yuuri in an attempt to make him feel better, but Yuuri had declared that the only thing he wanted was for Victor to have more faith in him than he had in himself._ _ _

___In the end Yuuri took silver, but not before they each took a turn in surprising the other; Yuuri by changing the last jump to a quad flip, Victor’s signature move, and Victor by giving Yuuri the kiss he had offered in the parking garage when he launched himself at the younger skater as he made his way off the ice. At the time Yuuri hadn’t thought much of it, a lot had happened after that so there hadn’t been much time _to_ think about it, but now that things had calmed down and it was just the two of them in the cab back to their hotel Yuuri’s mind was racing. What did the kiss mean? Did it mean anything at all? Had Victor really just been trying to one-up Yuuri in surprises? It seemed a little childish but certainly the sort of thing Victor would do. For the first time since it had happened Yuuri thought back to that day at the beach, did this kiss mean Victor really had wanted to kiss him back then? When Victor hadn’t tried to bring it up Yuuri had simply assumed that he had been correct about victor getting caught up in the moment, but now he wasn’t so sure._ _ _

___The ride back to the hotel wasn’t long, though the silence between them made it feel like an eternity and Yuuri was relieved when they finally pulled up outside. He knew they needed to talk about it, there was no avoiding it this time, but at least in their hotel room if things became too much he could either lock himself in the bathroom or go out into the hall until he calmed down. Or until Victor calmed down, Yuuri really had no idea what was going to happen, but he tried to prepare himself for the possibility that Victor would be upset it had taken so long for them to talk about this._ _ _

___After paying the cab fair they made their way inside, the elevator ride seeming to take even longer than the drive from the rink, but soon they were outside their hotel room. Victor swiped his card to unlock the door and they stepped inside. Yuuri immediately went to his bed, setting his gear bag down and trying to sort out his thoughts and decide on what to say first, but he had no idea where to start. Should he mention the beach? Ask what the kiss meant, if it meant anything at all? Did Victor want it to mean something? Or had it just been a stunt to get a reaction? Victor was known for trying to surprise the audience, but surely he couldn’t be so cruel as to play with someone’s emotions. No, at the very least Yuuri knew it hadn’t been for show. So then why-_ _ _

___“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…” Victor suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts. Yuuri blinked and turned around._ _ _

___“What?”_ _ _

___“Back at the rink, I… I really should have thought that through more. But after you made such a bold declaration well… I had to do something.”_ _ _

___Yuuri looked down, so it had been a stunt after all, Victor had just been doing what he did best, put on a show. Yuuri felt tears pricking at his eyes, it hadn’t meant anything._ _ _

___“I… Oh…”_ _ _

___“Yuuri…?” Victor asked, Yuuri heard a hint of concern in his voice._ _ _

___“What about the beach?” he blurted out, mentally kicked himself the moment it was out of his mouth. Now that it seemed like the kiss at the rink hadn’t meant anything he hadn’t intended to bring that up._ _ _

___“The beach?”_ _ _

___Yuuri felt his chest tighten, did Victor not remember? Had that moment really meant so little to him that he had completely forgotten it? He really didn’t want to be having the conversation, he didn’t even want to be in the room and was debating on whether or not to call Phichit and see if he could stay with him tonight. But then that would require explaining why he wasn’t staying in his own room and that was not a conversation he was prepared to have._ _ _

___“Yuuri… Talk to me. Look, I’m sorry if I upset you. What I did… it was impulsive, and maybe I shouldn’t have done it but-“_ _ _

___“Stop.”_ _ _

___Victor paused. “What?”_ _ _

___“Just… Just stop I… I can’t…” Now the tears were falling, just a few but he could feel many more behind them. “You can’t keep toying with my emotions like this.”_ _ _

___“Toying with- Yuuri what are you talking about?” Victor sounded genuinely confused, that only made it worse._ _ _

___“That day we went to the beach… When we were under the sprayers you… You tried to k-kiss me… I… I didn’t know how to handle it at the time so I pulled away, but then you never brought it up so I figured you just got caught up in the moment. And then tonight… Tonight you actually…” He brought a hand up and wiped at his eyes, but the tears kept coming. “But it… It didn’t mean anything…”_ _ _

___“What? Yuuri hang on, why do you think it didn’t mean anything?”_ _ _

___“Because you just said it! You said you did it because I did the quad flip at the end and you needed to do something to match it! You-“_ _ _

___“Yuuri, Yuuri.” Victor stepped forward, bringing his hands up to cup Yuuri’s cheeks. “That was not what I meant.”_ _ _

___Yuuri sniffled as he finally lifted his gaze to meet Victor’s. “It… It isn’t…?”_ _ _

___“Of course not. I said so while we were lying there didn’t I? You surprised me, so I wanted to surprise you. But… If I’m being honest, I’ve wanted to kiss you for quite some time.”_ _ _

___Yuuri’s breath hitched and his eyes went wide, Victor had wanted to kiss him? But then… why hadn’t he-_ _ _

___“As for the beach,” Victor continued, seeming to read Yuuri’s thoughts. “When you pulled away I figured you weren’t ready. I didn’t want to pressure you, so I didn’t bring it up. I figured when you were ready then we could talk, although I must admit this wasn’t how I had imagined it.”_ _ _

___In spite of himself, Yuuri let out a small laugh, no this certainly wasn’t how he had imagined them having this conversation either. But Victor was right, back then he hadn’t been ready. There had still been a part of him that was reeling at the fact that Victor Nikiforov, the world’s most decorated skater and his idol had stepped in to be his coach. By the point of the beach visit he was only just starting to really get comfortable around Victor, comfortable enough to let his guard down and lead Victor to try and kiss him apparently. Yuuri flushed at the thought._ _ _

___“What are you thinking?” Victor asked, his voice tender._ _ _

___“Ah… Just… Did I lead you on…? I didn’t think I was, I mean, I didn’t intend to but…”_ _ _

___“Mm…” Victor looked thoughtful a moment before answering. “I wouldn’t say lead on, mixed signals maybe.” Yuuri opened his mouth to apologize, but Victor shook his head. “That day at the beach I took a chance and it didn’t work out, that’s on me. That being said…” He shifted closer, leaning down until their faces were inches apart. “I’m hoping my second chance will go better.”_ _ _

___Yuuri let out a small gasp as the full implication of Victor’s words hit him. His eyes were locked with Victor’s, watching as the other man regarded him carefully, looking for any sign that he shouldn’t proceed. And then Victor’s eyes were moving closer, they slipped shut, and Yuuri’s own followed suit half a second before their lips touched._ _ _

___Yuuri felt like he was floating, it was as if everything around them had ceased to exist and it was just the two of them. He had always read in books or seen in movies how a first kiss could feel that way—and he definitely counted this as a first kiss because it was nothing like the one at the rink—but he had never actually believed it. The kiss at the rink had been chaste, a blink and you missed it sort of thing, but this kiss, this kiss was slow, gentle, and full of feelings that Yuuri wasn’t quite ready to put a name to yet. Victor’s hands were warm again his cheeks as he cradled Yuuri’s face as if it were something precious, one of his thumbs brushing gently across his skin._ _ _

___He had no idea how long they stayed like that, but it felt like not nearly long enough when Victor slowly pulled away. When Yuuri opened his eyes it was to see Victor gazing at him so tenderly that his heart instantly melted. Victor leaned forward until their foreheads touched, letting out a soft, contended sigh._ _ _

___“I’ve wanted to do that for so long…” he whispered._ _ _

___Yuuri couldn’t help but smile. In an act of boldness he brought his arms up to wrap around Victor’s neck, pulling in lightly until the other man stepped even closer._ _ _

___“They… Maybe we should make up for lost time…” he said. The words sounded ridiculous once they were said, though Victor didn’t seem to think so if they wide eyes and faint blush were anything to go by. After several long second Victor smiled and Yuuri felt himself relax._ _ _

___“I like the sound of that,” Victor said, then leaned in and kissed him again._ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! If you did please consider checking out some of my other works!
> 
> Kudos, comments, and (helpful) critiques are always welcome!


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